I beg to differ that diamond is worse than dollar tree brand. You're right, it's not a good brand considering ALL the recalls they have had, but it's cheaper and better than Alpo, Ol' Roy, Purina... She asked for a cheap dog food. Cooking for your cat is still better than kibble. Kibble is cooked to so they must both be lacking in nutrients. Taurine is a big one for cats. To make up for it, kibble just overloads its food in it and hopes that it has enough to sustain cats. So they could essentially be getting an overload of it. Cats also shouldn't be on an all fish diet... it's not good for them even though many think it is.

Purina is actually better than Diamond believe it or not. Regular Purina dog chow outranks Diamond in all reviews I've seen. I'm not saying Purina is good, but its better.

I never recommend fish at all in a cat's diet, I'm just giving an example of how a diet based entirely on cooked meat is not the best. This is a very extreme example, but it sometimes takes extremes to get people to take notice and do more research into their pet's food.

There's more to foods than their ingredients tell you. In one of the worst foods I've researched (for ferrets), I found that some of the listed bacteria to aid digestion were actually by-product bacteria from the pharmaceutical industry. More specifically, they were what was left over after culturing and harvesting bacteria to treat yeast infections. Bacteria normally found in certain areas of the human body that don't make for an appealing food additive.

"There are two things which cannot be attacked in front: ignorance and narrow-mindedness. They can only be shaken by the simple development of the contrary qualities. They will not bear discussion."

Is it the Diamond or Diamond Naturals, because I totally agree the Diamond is SCUM. Diamond Naturals still isn't a good food, but I feel that if you're on a budget... it might be a better choice...

I wasn't saying you were suggesting an all fish diet. Lol I was just saying that I've heard it's bad for cats to be on it permanently. Random factoid I spurt out occasionally. Lol Some of the things they add to food is disgusting. That's why it's always best to do research. I couldn't afford the good 'brand' of dog foods like Orijen and Acana and Evo... etc... so I decided to go raw. Plus, I'd be nervous to go on such a high protein diet with a dalmatian.

*eidt* Of course after I think about it, raw is a protein diet. LOL! But all the high protein good brands are usually the high purine meats.

*2nd edit* I also forget about purina one... for that, I would say that Purina One would be better than regular Diamond... but maybe Diamond Naturals would be slightly better than Purina One?

Once I spoke the language of the flowers, Once I understood each word the caterpillar said, Once I smiled in secret at the gossip of the starlings, And shared a conversation with the housefly in my bed. Once I heard and answered all the questions of the crickets, And joined the crying of each falling dying flake of snow, Once I spoke the language of the flowers. . . . How did it go? How did it go?

Which Diamond is Better????

OK,

I may be a little dense, but are you saying all of the Diamond named products are bad??

I went to the Diamond Naturals website and found out that they carry it at Menards. Can't find a price there but I found it at Pet Direct and their price is ~37.00 for 40 lbs, so that's not too bad. Menards must have a comparable price.

I went to the Natures Domain website and found it is only sold at Costco. Can't find the price on their website, so I did a little research on the web and found a few posts that say it's 28.00 for a 40 lbs.

So...

Are any/either of these a good food???

Puppies make the best friends

I'm A Loki Dog!!!!

Once I spoke the language of the flowers, Once I understood each word the caterpillar said, Once I smiled in secret at the gossip of the starlings, And shared a conversation with the housefly in my bed. Once I heard and answered all the questions of the crickets, And joined the crying of each falling dying flake of snow, Once I spoke the language of the flowers. . . . How did it go? How did it go?

Okay, I've found a few personal reviews of Diamond. These are by no means made by nutritionists or anything... just customers...

I have used Diamond all natural. The lamb and rice. My dog liked it. But there is another brand out that is made by diamond, and it is called Taste of the Wild. They have 3 flavors out. The prairie formula(bison and venison) The wetlands(roasted waterfowl) and the pacific stream(salmon) The first 2 are 6 star and the other a 5. It is an all natural food, containing fruits and veggies. My dog loves it, and she has gotten alot shinier coat since she has been on it. It costs me $40 for a 30 lb bag.

The Diamond Naturals is better than the straight Diamond. I know a lot of people like the Natural's line as a decent midrange dog food (IE better than Dog Chow but not Innova or Origen by any stretch of the imagination.

The Eagle Pack Holistic is about it's equal, I'm not a big fan of the regular Eagle Pack though.

I feed my girls Innova, but if price is a concern, Diamond Naturals is good, I'm trying to convince my mom to try it with her two dogs, she feeds Dog Chow. YUCK.

I think it's a crappy food. Diamond puts out /some/ decent diets (Chicken Soup For The Pet Lover's Soul, Taste of the Wild) but most of their diets are crap.

Not all pet food is made equally. A lot of it is full of corn, by-products, dyes, unhealthy preservatives, filler grains and all sorts of nasty stuff. A lot of pet food companies are perfectly happy to the dump cheap leftovers and things that aren't safe for human consumption (from human food processing plants) into their foods. Will it kill your dog? No, it has to be nutritionally complete and safe to even be marketed. Is it healthy? Not by a long shot.

Corn is a low quality ingredient you never want to see in your pet food. Corn and low quality grains are two of the biggest culprits when it comes to food allergies in our pets.

Thankfully, there are some excellent dog foods being made these days that include organic, human grade ingredients rather than trash not fit for human consumption.

Although the high quality foods are more expensive, you're getting what you're paying for. Less filler material means more concentrated nutrients... this means you typically need to feed far less of the high quality food than you would of the low quality one. Which also means less poop!

Before following your vet's food recommendation, keep in mind that vets get /very/ little nutritional training during their schooling. Besides that, what training they /do/ get is usually sponsored or taught by the crappy pet food companies! They also often get paid to sell some of their products at their clinics (Science Diet, Royal Canin etc.)

A great option is to go with an entirely grainless diet. Many of the high quality foods now put out grainless formulas. Some good grainless diets include: Innova EVO, Wellness CORE, Blue Wilderness, Nature's Variety Instinct, Orijen, Horizon Legacy, Merrick Before Grain, Canidae Grain Free All Life Stages, Fromm Surf & Turf, Now! and Sold Gold Barking At The Moon, Taste of the Wild.

Some pretty decent foods can even be found in common pet stores. Petsmart carries Blue Buffalo products (such as the excellent grain free diet Blue Wilderness). Petco carries Wellness, Solid Gold, Natural Balance, Eagle Pack Holistic, Blue Buffalo, Castor & Pollux Organix, Pinnacle, and Halo. If you can't find a food, most of the high quality food brands have websites with store locators on them.

Another option, if you can't find anywhere around you that sells good foods, is to order your pet food online. Here's an excellent place to do so: http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/

Remember that foods should be switched gradually (mixing new slowly in with the old over about a two week period), especially when switching to a higher quality one, so as not to upset tummies.

This is basically the majority of my feeling on the dog food. Diamonds had a MAJOR pet food recall in 2007.

*Edit* On another forum I belong to, they talked about the Kirkland and Nature's Domain brands. Out of those two, I would do Nature's Domain because it's grain free.... but I believe it's right up there with Taste of the Wild.

Also, if you think about 38 dollars for 35 lbs isn't bad, I had Remy on Chicken Soup before. But it had to much grains for her and gave her ear infections, but I hear a lot of pups do fine on it. Now she's on Taste of the Wild.

1- Seravieve, Thanks for the info. I found and printed the coupons last night. Their daddy is going there tonight. The coupons are expired (12/31/09) but maybe they will take them anyway. He can be pretty persuasive/pleading when he wants to be. I will let you know if he can grab any of the peely coupons.

2- Karen and Catlady711, I do give them green beans all the time. As well as carrots, peas, potatoes… everything really except corn. I was wondering about things like kidney beans, navy beans, lentils, that sort of thing. I would like to add them as a source of fiber-protein, in addition to the meat of coarse.

Again to all, Thanks for all the info so far. Does anyone else have a suggestion for a good “filler” for their home cooked food? I am using oatmeal, brown rice, barley and fresh, frozen and canned veggies. Sometimes I use pasta, not too often though. Is that a good filler?

That website has alot of good information on it by an accredited veterinary nutritionist. For a fee they will do a custom home cooked diet for you to use based on your pet's personal needs, in this case no corn.

Thank you everybody

I just want to say thank you to everybody who took the time to look at and reply to this post. I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate the time, effort, and the research you all did.

I think for now that we will be OK with the Natures Recipe since they do well on it. And with the great info on the coupons that you gave me the price is very manageable for the time being.

I will continue to look around for alternatives and cook for them on a regular basis. Maybe I'll just start my own dog food company and sell it to everyone at cost.

Anyway - Big Thanks to all of you.

Puppies make the best friends

I'm A Loki Dog!!!!

Once I spoke the language of the flowers, Once I understood each word the caterpillar said, Once I smiled in secret at the gossip of the starlings, And shared a conversation with the housefly in my bed. Once I heard and answered all the questions of the crickets, And joined the crying of each falling dying flake of snow, Once I spoke the language of the flowers. . . . How did it go? How did it go?

Hi, everybody, I am new here and was reading all your posts.
Have you ever thought that you are comparing commercial dog food with commercial dog food. Instead of comparing commercial dog food and a natural diet? There is absolutely no comparison which is healthier and cheaper!
I own 4 Golden Retrievers, I used to breed them. I feed all of them a biologically appropriate diet. Called BARF. It is a lot cheaper! Twice! Once on your wallet by paying a fraction for dog food. Second by not having dogs sick. So I am saving on the vet bills too, well into old age.
Consider it, specially with big dogs like Rottweiler, just perfect.

I am a professional dog groomer, ex breeder, dog trainer, and teach people how to feed their dog correctly. The one thing that ALL the dog brands have in common is 3rd grade ingredients and they are all cooked. There is no anti-oxidants in them. The cooking processed makes food rancid for dogs. So you are actually slowly poisoning your dogs. As the cooking process kills most nutrients that dogs need and is only available from raw and fresh foods!
The Vets know about this too! But they stay silent, as they like to earn money of your sick pets! Plus the average Vet had about 4 hours of training in food! and that by Pal!
I live in Australia, so Im not advertising here, OK? But, I do have a website set up for my clients, to unravel the mystery of feeding your dog better. If you like have a look, maybe it will help you to feed your dogs healthier and cheaper. www.pet-affair.com.au
Got any more question write to me or buy the book "Give your dog a bone, by Ian Billinghurst, he will open your eyes to what is going on in the commercial dog food industry! All I can say, YUK!!